Outcast
by Bluefire Eternal
Summary: Prequel to the movies. Erevu: the neglected son of King Kafil, outcast of the Lushlands Pride, grandson of the legendary Ghost Lion, the cub who was destined to become King, Nala's father. From before birth to death, this is his story.


**Yes, Lion King fandom, I'm back. For those who care, this is a prequel of the Lion King movies and my own fanfiction _One True King. _The old version is still up, if you care to read it, and the revised first chapter will be up soon under a new story called _One True King: Revised. Outcast _follows the story of Erevu, Nala's father. He won't show up for a couple of chapters, though. I'm taking my time with this story and am not charging into it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plots and locations you do not recognise from the Lion King, and of course, my OCs.**

It was late in the afternoon, and all hunting and patrolling for the day was done. The lions of the Lushlands were taking advantage of their free time by basking in the warmth of the sun. Nadra and the other lionesses were dozing on the rocks, their King off to the side as he sat by himself, keeping watch over his pride.

Nadra cracked open one blue eye. "Father's doing it again."

Jalila, Nadra's mother, didn't stir. The golden lioness lay still, too lazy to speak. Finally Jalila mustered up enough energy to mutter, "Doing what again?"

Nadra raised her very pale golden head off her paws, her tail swishing side to side in agitation. "Father's standing guard over us again. First we were all off hunting for the majority of the day, and now he isn't taking time off to relax?" She shook her head, unable to comprehend why in the Great Kings why her father was exhausting himself so much.

Jalila sighed, not even bothering to open her eyes. "Your father does that every day, Nadra. You know as much as I do that all the young males that were turned out of their prides often head off toward the Lushlands. The King needs to be vigilant, or else he runs the risk of getting caught in a surprise attack."

The young lioness sneaked another glance at her father, hoping she didn't catch is icy-blue gaze. King Abasi was one of the rare white lions, and currently the only one to be ruling over a pride. King Abasi was broad-shouldered and powerfully built, and his white pelt was riddled with scars, tokens of past hunts and battles. But the King of the Lushlands was growing old; he was already at the ripe of age of thirteen, and wouldn't be able to over-power the younger males for much longer.

Nadra sniffed. "Well, maybe if all the Kings didn't turn all the young lions out of their prides, then maybe we wouldn't be haven't this discussion." An image of a white lion similar to her father, but with golden eyes instead of blue, floated in front of her mind's eye as she said this.

Jalila sighed, watching her daughter with a concerned expression. "You're still thinking of Farasi." It wasn't a question.

The younger lioness nodded. Farasi was her full-brother, older than her by about a year. He had been driven out of the pride last wet season by King Abasi, and Nadra hadn't seen her brother since.

"I still don't see why Father exiled Farasi," Nadra said. "It's not he would have tried to usurp Father or anything."

Jalila nodded, her amber eyes full of sadness. "Farasi loved his father, he would have never harmed the King. But can the same be said for your other brothers?"

The pale gold lioness shivered, remembering Kwanza. Kwanza had been her eldest full-brother and had been banished when Nadra had been scarcely older than a cub. Unlike Farasi, Kwanza had been ambitious and power-hungry up to the point where he and his half-brothers had tried to attack their father. King Abasi had fought back, scarring his own sons until they ran out of the Lushlands bloodied and humiliated.

Jalila noticed her daughter's unease. "You see, Nadra, that's exactly why the Kings drive out all the young males. Evantually they grow too old and cocky and they pose a serious threat to the fathers they once looked up to."

Nadra remained silent for a moment, watching several of her younger half-siblings engage in a play-fight. Her thoughts travelled from Kwanza and Farasi back to King Abasi and she frowned. "Still, Father should know better than to push himself too hard. He's getting up there in years, and I don't think he'll be able to keep back the rogues forever."

Jalila scoffed. She had been under King Abasi's rule ever since she herself was a young cub, and it was no secret she had complete confidence in her mate's abilities. "Don't be silly, Nadra. If your father was able to defeat three lion brothers, I'm certain I can handle a couple of over-grown cubs."

Nadra wasn't fooled. King Abasi had indeed fought and beat three young males that had challenged him for his pride. He had also sucessfully fought other pairs of rogues that thought they had a chance of winning if they joined forces. But that was years ago, long before Nadra was born, when King Abasi had been in his prime.

"But-" the young lioness began to protest, but then closed her mouth, thinking better of it. Jalila would not be swayed from her view that the King was invincible. Nadra rested her head on her paws, deciding it was best not to start another argument with her mother. Still, the doubts she had about her father's waning strength would not go away.

Nadra, lulled into drowniness by the thrumming of the insects and by the late afternoon sun, allowed herself to drift into a light doze. It was better to sleep than to let her grim thoughts about King Abasi haunt her all day.

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Mosi was in a bad mood. He and his younger twin brother, Kafil, had been rudely ejected from their pride by their father. The two young lions had been wandering for about three days in the barren wasteland that seperated the Riverlands from the other territories. They'd had little water since then, and not a bite to eat since before leaving the Riverlands.

Kafil wasn't helping things either. The younger lion had been obnoxiously optimistic since they had been exiled; convinced that they would find and take over a pride of their own before the dry season was upon them. Currently he was walking beside Mosi, chattering on about what he would do once they defeated a King.

"I don't know about you, Mosi, but once I'm King I'll be taking advantage of all the new lovely female company," Kafil was saying. "I'll be spending time with the younger and prettier lionesses. Mosi, you can have all the older and distuinguished ones, they're not really my-"

"Kafil?" Mosi began with a warning note in his voice.

The wiry-looking lion stopped and turned toward his brother, golden eyes curious. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Do you mind getting your head out of the clouds and focusing on the current situation?" Mosi nodded at the barren landscape all around the two brothers. "We sort of have more important things to think about right now then spending time with our future subjects. Like finding food, for instince."

Kafil shook his light brown mane, freeing it of the dust that had steadily built up in it. "There is no food here," he pointed out. "They don't call this place the Barrenlands for nothing. If there was food they'd call it the.....Foodlands or something." Kafil grinned at his brother.

Mosi sighed and shook his head, wondering how his brother could find something humorous in their hopeless situation. "Then we might as well start planning which pride to take over," he said reasonably. "There's no way I'm going back to the Riverlands. Mating with my sisters and aunts is not something I find enjoyable."

Kafil nodded in agreement, the goofy grin falling off his face as it was replaced by a look of earnest concentration. "We can try the Pridelands," he suggested. "Only one King rules up there, and he has plenty of lionesses to rule over."

Mosi shuddered and shook his head. "Do you hear what animals say about King Ahadi?" he asked in a dark voice. Kafil looked up at his brother with confused eyes. The older lion, pleased that he had gotten the attention of his listener, continued on. "Many young lions thought that they could challenge King Ahadi, and some of them tried to work in pairs. When Ahadi finished with them, there was hardly anything left for the scavangers."

Kafil laughed and shook his head. "You're such a cub," he said. "Ahadi's only one lion, we can take him."

"Like we were able to take Dad?" Mosi retorted. His smaller and thinner brother fell silent, his bright amber eyes darkening as he thought of that terrible day. "All the prides that border the Barrenlands are all ruled by lions older and stronger than us, or are too small and old to bother with."

Kafil padded on silently, gazing down at his paws in deep thought. "The Lushlands," he muttered to himself.

Mosi blinked. "What did you say?"

"The Lushlands!" The younger lion began to bounce ecstaticly around his twin, acting like a small cub. "That's it, Mosi! We can beat King Abasi and take over the Lushlands!"

"The Lushlands?" Mosi repeated in blantant disbelief. "Kafil, you heard the stories about King Abasi! He's _the _Ghost Lion. The one King who ruled over his territory for over _ten _years and was able to defeat every single lion that was stupid enough to challenge him!"

"Yes," Kafil agreed happily, "ten years." His brother looked back blankly. "Don't you see?" he asked in an aggravated voice. "King Abasi's thirteen years old and he isn't getting any younger. He might have been unbeatable while he was in his prime...but as his advanced age, he's practically about to kiel over as it is."

Mosi looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "If we managed to beat Abasi," he murmured, "and if we take over the Lushlands, we'd control a territory that has an abundance of food and water even in the dry season. Not to mention being the Kings of a large pride filled with young and attractive lionesses."

Kafil glanced at his brother in disbelief. "_Lots _of young and attractive lionesses?" he asked skeptically.

His older brother nodded, a small smile tugging at his hard face. "The Ghost Lion is renowned for siring many cubs, especially daughters."

The younger lion was jumping up and down like an ecstatic cub, moving around his brother in an impatient dance. "Then what are we waiting for?" he almost shouted joyfully. "We have a King to defeat!"

The two brothers, flying high on excitement and the promising chance of victory, took off across the Barrenlands in a run. They covered the space between themselves and their destination in effortless bounds, their renewed hope a fueling their worn and weary bodies with a cublike energy.

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That night, Nadra found herself unable to sleep. Her dreams were plagued by horrifying images of her father being brutally attacked by younger and stronger adversaries. At last his legendary strength finally failed him and King Abasi was defeated. Nadra found herself petrified, unable to move, as her father was mercilessly ripped apart and left to die a slow and agonising death.

As not to awaken anyone else, Nadra quietly picked her way through the mob of sleeping half-siblings and lionesses. She carefully stepped over a fluffy pile of slumbering cubs barely three months old and deftly avoided accidentally stepping on her half-sister, Badriya. Finally free of the mass of twitching and snoring fur, Nadra continued on with her walk.

Some distance away from the pride, the extremely pale lioness finally settled down on a small hill over-looking the moonlit Lushlands. Despite having a calming effect on Nadra, she was only reminded again that most young rogues would kill for a territory like this. King Abasi wouldn't be able to hold them all off forever.

"I see that I am not the only one awake tonight."

Nadra whirled around, startled by the sound of the familiar low and rumbling voice. King Abasi stood before her, his white pelt gleaming silver in the moonlight. His powerful form towered over hers and once again she was reminded of how her father came to bear the name Ghost Lion. In this light he appeared almost ethereal and insubstantial.

"Father." Trembling, Nadra bent her head in respect, making sure not to meet those icy-blue eyes. She was but one of many daughters, of one of many lionesses. She wasn't even daughter of Malikah, Abasi's main mate or "Queen."

King Abasi gently tipped his daughter's head upward to face him. Unnerving blue eyes that mirrored the other so eerily gazed down into each other. Nadra noticed that along with her father's usual look of sterness a strange glow of affection was in his usually cold eyes.

"You do not bow to me," he said. "My blood flows through your veins. The blood of the King, of the Ghost Lion. And my flesh and blood never have to bow down to me."

Nadra nodded, fearfully looking away from Abasi when he released his hold on her. She stared out into the Lushlands, trying to ignore the fact that the all-powerful King of the Lushlands was sitting right next to her. "But yet you make your sons bow to you."

King Abasi remained quiet for a moment, as unmoving and silent as a lion carved out of white stone. Finally he answered, "When my sons grow old enough they no longer look at me as if I am flesh and blood. I am an oppenent; another obstacle between them and what they desire the most. Then they are no longer my sons, but rather just another rogue looking to claim the Lushlands as their own."

_But what about Farasi and the other like him? _Nadra thought wonderingly. _They never seek to steal your kingdom from you, and yet you drive them out just the same._

The King gazed down at his daughter, his blue eyes seeming to peer into her very soul. "Nadra, you did not come here tonight for a mere walk. Tell me what's bothering you."

The pale golden lioness shivered. "Dreams," she answered simply.

"Dreams of rogues killing me and taking over the Lushlands," he stated matter-of-factly. Nadra looked up at him in surprise. "I could tell by the look on your face," Abasi explained. "Malikah feels the same way. She says I should cut my losses and retreat while I still have strength. She wishes for the two of us to leave the Lushlands for the young males to fight over and live out the remainder of our lives in peace."

"Then why don't you?" Nadra challenged. She rounded on her father, fur bristling in rage and frustration. "Leave with your beloved Queen and go somewhere safe to leave our the rest of your days in luxury, like you should! Why stay here and wait for someone to kill you?"

King Abasi didn't appear frazzled by his child's outburst in the least. "A promise," he replied. "A promise I made to your mother, especially."

"My mother?"

The white lion nodded and a ghost of a sad smile crossed his face. "Makilah might be my Queen but my heart belongs with Jalila. It was her I loved above all and I can only regret that your mother was too young to become my Queen when I took over the Pridelands. I swore to her that I would protect her my pride until my final breath rather than leave them to the greedy rogues."

"But you're getting old!" Nadra protested. "You can not protect us forever!"

"My strength may be waning but I still have enough power to keep you and your sisters safe for many moons more," Abasi said. "When my time comes, your own fur will be beginning to turn gray."

"But-" the pale lioness began to reply.

"No arguing," King Abasi growled in a stern tone. For a second his warm face became cold and commanding again and Nadra's protests died in her throat. Then the Ghost Lion smiled again and touched his daughter on the nose. "Go rest, Nadra. I will be able to take care of myself."

Abasi turned and padded away softly, leaving Nadra alone with only her thoughts. She felt comforted by her father's reassurements, but her horrible thoughts still lingered. Despite the confidence in Abasi's words, she could still not help but fear the inevitable was much closer than her father anticipated.

**New Characters from this Chapter:**

**King Abasi-** powerfully-built and scarred white lion with blue eyes, leader of the Lushlands Pride, Swahili for "stoic, stern"

**Queen Malikah-** a graying dark brown lioness with amber eyes, Queen of the Lushlands Pride, Swahili for "queen"

**Jalila-** a beautiful golden lioness with blue eyes, Abasi's favorite mate, mother of Kwanza, Farasi and Nadra, Swahili for "grand, noble"

**Kwanza-** a white lion with amber eyes, five years old and outcast of the Lushlands Pride, Jalila's oldest son, Swahili for "first"

**Farasi-** a slender white lion with golden eyes, four years old and outcast of the Lushlands Pride, Jalila's second oldest son, Swahili for "horse"

**Nadra- **an extremely pale gold lioness with blue eyes, three years old and member of the Lushlands Pride, Jalila's only daughter, Swahili for "special"

**Badriya-** a silvery gray lioness with blue eyes, three years old and member of the Lushlands Pride, one of Abasi's many daughters, Swahili for "like the moon"

**Mosi-** a broad-shouldered golden brown lion with a black mane and golden eyes, outcast of the Riverlands Pride, Kafil's older twin brother, Swahili for "first born"

**Kafil-** a wiry golden brown lion with a light brown mane and golden eyes, outcast of the Riverlands Pride, Mosi's younger twin brother, Swahili "protector"


End file.
